->Butterscotch 01 <-

3/4 pound brioche or challah

1 cup walnuts

1 cup butterscotch chips

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons instant espresso or coffee granules

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Discard crust from bread and cut enough bread into 1/2-inch cubes

to measure 6 cups. In a large baking pan dry bread, uncovered, at

12 hours.

10-inch pie plate (1 1/2) quarts

Chop walnuts and toast golden. Cool walnuts. In a bowl toss

together bread, half of walnuts, and butterscotch chips and transfer

to pie plate. In a saucepan heat one cup of milk until it just

begins to boil and remove pan from heat. Add espresso or coffee

granules, stirring until dissolved, and stir in remaining cup milk.

In bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, and salt and whisk in espresso

mixture until combined well. Pour custard slowly and evenly over

bread mixture. Chill pudding, covered, at least one hour and up

to one day. Preheat oven to 350F. Sprinkle remaining walnuts evenly

over pudding. Cut butter into bits and dot pudding with it. Bake

pudding in middle of oven until bubbling and golden, about 40

minutes. Serve pudding warm or at room temperature.